Draft rigging



Oct. 17, 1933. M. H. MARTIN DRAFT RIGGING FiledDec. 12. 1928 PatentedOct. 17, 1933 g l 1,930,529

vU STATES: j

DRAFT RIG-GING Mark H. Martin, Reading, ea, assignorto Birds 1 boro'Stc'el Foundry 8; .Machine Company, Birdsboro, Pa, a corporation ofPennsylvania Application. December 12-, 1928. Serial No. 325,491 I 1"Claim. (01. 213- 3) My invention relates to draft rigging but moreFigi5' is a view in longitudinal vertical section particularly to meansfor connecting together showing a slightly modified construction ofcouthe coupler and yoke of draft rigging. pling.

The general object of my invention is to pro- Referring'to the drawing,1 designates the out-',

5 vide novel draft rigging for a railway car charer end portions of thecenter sills of a railway acterized by the provision of a novel andimcar between which draft rigging embodying-the proved'construction ofmeans for connecting the invention is located. The said draft riggingcomcoupler to the yoke thereof in such manner as prises a coupler ofstandard construction the to permit angular movement of thesaid coupler,stem 2 of'which is connected to the arms 3- 0f and also embodying meansfor operatively cona connecting member 4 by a key 5, which 'me'm}necting the said yoke and coupler to the center ber'is in turn'pivotally connected to the arms'6 V sills of the said railwaycar. V ofthe yoke of the draft'rigging by-means of It also is an'object of myinvention to prothe-pin 7. The innersquare end of tlie coupler V videnovel draft rigging wherein a coupler of stem fits in theopening'betwee'n the'arms 3,"the

standard construction may be employed and inner surfaces of which areshaped to fit the Q. wherein the coupler may be moved angularlyadjoining surfaces of the stem2. The outer ends with respect to theyoke, the construction and of the key 5 extend through elongatedopenings arrangement of the rigging being such as to or slots 8 providedin front draft stop members cause buiiing shocks imparted to the couplerto 10 which are riveted to the inner sides of the ho be centered uponthe cushioning means of the said sills. The said stop members areprovided 75 draft rigging irrespective of the position of the withoutwardly extending flanges 11 which sursaid coupler relative to thesaid means. round the openings 8 and are thickened at their A furtherobject of my invention is to proinner end portions, as shown at 12 inFig. 4, to vide front draft stops of novel character for provide endbearing surfaces of increased area the center sills of a railway car,between which for bearing against the inner ends of the slots 13 SQsills draft rigging is located. 7 t in the center sills, which slots areof the same Other objects and advantages from a practical shape as theexterior surfaces of the said flanges. standpoint will be pointed out inthe detailed The inner end of the member 4 extends between descriptionthereof which follows or will become the arms 6 of the yoke, as shown.The outer ends apparent from such description. of the pin '7 extendthrough slots 14 provided in 85 In order that the invention may bereadily the said arms, and the said pin also extends understood and itsmanifold practical advantages through alined openings formed in thethree pivot appreciated, reference may be had to the aclugs 15 and thetwopivot lugs 16 of the member 4 companying drawing in which aconvenient emand a swivel block 17 respectively, which lugs inbodimentthereof is illustrated. But it is to be termesh as shown. The swivelblock is located 90 understood that the invention is susceptible ofbetween the arms 6, as shown in Fig. 2. The said being embodied in otherforms of construction pinis held in position by the retainer 18. Thethan that shown and that changes may be made inner plane face of theswivel block 17 abuts or in the details of construction withoutdepartcontacts with cushioning mechanism of known ing from the principleof the said invention. construction indicated diagrammatically by dot 95In the said drawing,- and dash lines 19. The said cushioning mecha-vFig. 1 is a view in horizontal sectional top plan nism may embody afollower plate 20 with which showing draft rigging embodying myinvention the said swivel block engages. But as will be and the outerends of center sills between which understood, the type of cushioningmechanism in the said rigging is located. which a separate followerplate is not used, may 0 Fig. 2 is a view in vertical longitudinalsection be employed in lieu of that which is shown, in taken on the line22 of Fig. 1; which case the swivel block will contact directly Fig. 3is a view similar to that shown in Fig. with the cage thereof. When therigging occupies 2, the coupler means shown in the latter being theposition shown, the follower 20 abuts or conomitted in order to showmore clearly the contacts with the inner flanged ends 21 of the front 9struction of the cheek plates secured to the sills; draft stop members.

Fig. 4 is a view in elevation on reduced scale In the operation of therigging the coupler and of the outside of a fragmentary portion of acenthe member 4 are moved to various positions about ter sill near oneend thereof, which sill embodies the pin 7 as an axis while buifing anddraft shocks the construction shown in Fig. 3; and cause longitudinalmovements of the coupler, the 11% member 4, pin '7, swivel block 1'7 andfollower 20 relative to the yoke. Such longitudinal movements arepermitted by the slots 14 in the arms of the yoke. The buffing shocksalways are centered upon the cushioning means 19 by the swivel block andfollower irrespective of the position ofthe coupler and the member 4.The coupler is supported in known manner near its forward end by thetransverse member 23 formed integrally with the striker casting 24 andprovided with the usual wear plate 25.

The swivel block 17 is guided by longitudinally extending flanges 27formed on the stop members 10 and also by ribs 28 formed on the platesof said stop members and located intermediate the flanges 27. Referringto Figs. 1 and 3, it will be observed that the rib 28 shown thereinextends forwardly and merges with the curved portion of an inwardlyextending flange 29 which partially surrounds the slot 8. The flanges 29and por-' tions of the ribs 28 taper outwardly to permit the desiredangular movement of the member l between the stop members 10, as will beunderstood. The flanges 21, 2'7 and 29 and the ribs 28 greatlystrengthen the stop members 10 and cause. .forces which are imposed onthe members 10 to be distributed over large areas of the sills to whichthey are secured.

It should be remarked that it has been the practice heretofore toconstruct draft rigging and front draft stops therefor in such mannerthat the inner ends of the said stops havebeen located in a planeincluding the inner end of the coupler stem. In other words, in priorconstructions the said stops generally are located at the points wherethe flanges 29 are located in the construction shown herein. Ittherefore will be obvious that a construction embodying my invention issuperior to those devised heretofore, because thin sections of metal areavoided thereby and the loads which are imposed on the stop members aredistributed over larger areas of the center sills upon which they aremounted.

InFig. 5 I have shown a modified construction wherein the connectingmember 4 is provided with. .two pivot lugs 33 instead of three, and theswivel block 1'! has three pivot lugs 34 instead of two, thisarrangement of the lugs being a reversal of that shown'in Fig. 2.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

' In a draft rigging, a coupler, a yoke, a connecting membe'rinterposedbetween the said coupler and the said yoke said member being providedsaid member to the said yoke, said means having slidable connection withsaid yoke wherebythe said coupler and the said connecting member aremovable longitudinally relatively to the said yoke in combination withcenter sills having longitudia nal slots passing outer portions of thekey and shoes fastened to the slots, said shoes fitting the slots andmaking longitudinal slide connections with extended portions of the key.

, "MARK I -I. MARTIN;

